Mostly the former. I am an individualist and dislike collectivism. As befits a proper individualist :-) I also recognize that people are different and what’s good for me is not necessarily good for thee. I can survive and function in collectivist environments like you propose, but I don’t like them and don’t see a good reason for me to be there.
As to the latter, it’s hard to do a pre-mortem on something that’s still in flux. Communes of different kinds—from monasteries to kibbutzim and hippies—have been around for many centuries and clearly some people like them and find them useful. There’s enough history (which I’m not all that familiar with) to learn where the common pitfalls lie and what are the major trade-offs that you would be facing. I can’t recommend a book, but I’m sure there’s a few.
Generally speaking, I would expect the most likely mode of failure to be the way power dynamics develop. Authority and power are complicated and deadly—tightly-knit communities can go very bad quickly this way (consult your favourite cult group horror story). Adding sex to the mix generally makes things… more volatile. The rationalist community doesn’t strike me as being particularly capable of managing power issues.
Mostly the former. I am an individualist and dislike collectivism. As befits a proper individualist :-) I also recognize that people are different and what’s good for me is not necessarily good for thee. I can survive and function in collectivist environments like you propose, but I don’t like them and don’t see a good reason for me to be there.
As to the latter, it’s hard to do a pre-mortem on something that’s still in flux. Communes of different kinds—from monasteries to kibbutzim and hippies—have been around for many centuries and clearly some people like them and find them useful. There’s enough history (which I’m not all that familiar with) to learn where the common pitfalls lie and what are the major trade-offs that you would be facing. I can’t recommend a book, but I’m sure there’s a few.
Generally speaking, I would expect the most likely mode of failure to be the way power dynamics develop. Authority and power are complicated and deadly—tightly-knit communities can go very bad quickly this way (consult your favourite cult group horror story). Adding sex to the mix generally makes things… more volatile. The rationalist community doesn’t strike me as being particularly capable of managing power issues.